Koivu, Perry lead Ducks past Red Wings, 4-1

Jan 6, 2010 - 6:44 AM

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP) -- Saku Koivu had Brian Rafalski on his hip,
two more Red Wings within slashing distance and goalie Jimmy
Howard right on top of the puck - and Finland's Olympic captain
still managed to score a short-handed goal.

Not many of Koivu's previous 199 career goals required this much
effort, yet his extra oomph put the Anaheim Ducks on a roll
toward an important victory.

Koivu scored his 200th goal, Jonas Hiller made 38 saves and the
Ducks ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over
Detroit on Tuesday night.

With star center Ryan Getzlaf back in the lineup, Anaheim took
charge early when Koivu reached his latest career milestone with
a remarkable short-handed effort in the first period. After
intercepting a mid-ice pass, Koivu broke loose from the
backcheckers, fired a shot at Howard and then dug out the
rebound from underneath the goalie.

It was the ninth goal of the longtime Montreal captain's debut
season with the Ducks - and his first short-handed goal in more
than three years.

"You've got to fight through those kinds of things," Koivu said.
"I just kept going to the net and fighting, and I got rewarded.
That's the way we have to look at the game right now. We have to
win shift after shift, period after period. We realize the
situation we're in."

Matt Beleskey scored his first NHL goal and Corey Perry ended a
10-game goal drought with a late score for the last-place Ducks,
who struggled while playing 10 of their past 12 games on the
road. Anaheim has earned points in nine of 10 home games, and
coach Randy Carlyle hoped the victory would be a springboard for
an inconsistent club.

"That's the inspiration you hope goes through your hockey club,"
Carlyle said of Koivu's goal. "You could feel it on the bench.
It was a great start for your group, especially playing the
Detroit Red Wings. His will outdid their skill in a couple of
situations early."

Valtteri Filppula scored on a rebound with 8:57 left to end
Hiller's bid for his sixth career shutout, but Perry replied
with 6:31 to play. Anaheim's Kyle Chipchura scored an empty-net
goal that traveled nearly the entire length of the rink with 7.8
seconds left.

Howard stopped 31 shots for the Red Wings after beating Anaheim
twice earlier this season at Joe Louis Arena in this rematch of
an outstanding postseason series. Anaheim stretched the eventual
Western Conference champions to seven games in the second round
of last season's playoffs after knocking off top-seeded San
Jose.

"We weren't prepared to play, for whatever reason," Detroit
coach Mike Babcock said. "It was our worst game in a while. We
let ourselves down here. I don't think you can even find out how
good you can be unless you play as hard as you're capable of
playing, and we didn't do that tonight. Too many turnovers and
poor execution, especially early."

The Red Wings didn't have Henrik Zetterberg or Dan Cleary, who
are both close to returning from separated shoulders. Both hope
to play Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Getzlaf returned from a four-game absence caused by a
self-inflicted skate cut on his right knee, and the Ducks
responded with one of their best offensive games in several
weeks.

Beleskey scored moments after Koivu's goal, firing home a
rebound of Sheldon Brookbank's wide shot. The 21-year-old rookie
forward had three assists this season, but finally scored a goal
in his 24th career game.

"It's disappointing, especially the way we came out in the first
period," Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We got it going
in the second, but we were playing from behind, playing catch-up
hockey. They were playing really well in their own zone and
pushing us to the outside when we gained entry into their zone.
We had some shots, but most of them were coming from the
outside."

Anaheim's defense mostly kept Detroit's forwards out of prime
scoring positions through a scoreless second period and well
into the third before Filppula backhanded in a rebound for his
first goal since Oct. 17. The Finnish Olympian missed 26 games
because of a broken wrist before returning Dec. 26.

Getzlaf then stole a puck near Detroit's net, and Perry
eventually found it for his 17th goal.

NOTES: Koivu's previous short-handed goal was scored on Dec. 14,
2006. ... Ducks F Teemu Selanne missed his 14th straight game,
but hopes to return from a broken hand later this week. The
Finnish Olympian has been out since Dec. 3. ... Anaheim
reassigned C MacGregor Sharp to the AHL. He is scoreless in
eight games with the Ducks this season. ... A pregame moment of
silence was held for Los Angeles Angels broadcaster Rory Markas,
who died Monday at 54.